Re: Q: rational for $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config to be "non global" or just a bug?

[Yaroslav Halchenko <yoh@onerussian.com>]

On Mon, 11 Dec 2017, Jonathan Nieder wrote:
> > Example to show that TFM outlines precedence and --global correctly:

> > $> grep xdg .gitconfig .config/git/config
> > .gitconfig:    xdg-and-user = user
> > .config/git/config: xdg = xdg
> > .config/git/config: xdg-and-user = xdg
> > $> git config user.xdg ; git config user.xdg-and-user
> > xdg
> > user

> I agree, this is confusing.

> Reverse engineering from source, I find that git reads the following
> files in sequence:

> 	system:
> 		/etc/gitconfig
> 	global:
> 		$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config
> 		$HOME/.gitconfig
> 	repo:
> 		$GIT_DIR/config
> 	commandline:
> 		options passed with -c or GIT_CONFIG_PARAMETERS

> These terms (system, global, repo, etc) are accessible in code as
> current_config_scope().  I don't think there's any user-visible effect
> to $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config and $HOME/.gitconfig both being global
> --- it would probably be a good cleanup to rename the scope for one of
> them.

Well, we have got at least one user/contributor now who uses
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config in favor of ~/.gitconfig since it makes it
easier for modular user configuration.

> I think the documentation

> 	~/.gitconfig
> 		User-specific configuration file. Also called "global"
> 		configuration file.

> should be clarified --- e.g. it could say

> 	$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config
> 	~/.gitconfig
> 		User-specific configuration files. Because options in
> 		these files are not specific to any repository, thes
> 		are sometimes called global configuration files.

> As for "git config --global", I think the best thing would be to split
> it into two options: something like "git config --user" and "git
> config --xdg-user".  That way, it is unambiguous which configuration
> file the user intends to inspect or modify.  When a user calls "git
> config --global" and both files exist, it could warn that the command
> is ambiguous.

why ambiguous?  as long as both are consistently called global, and the
overloading rules are clear for reading -- nothing ambigous.  The only
ambigous logic would be for writing.

> Thoughts?

Well -- my main functionality concern that ATM
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/git/config is (as of 2.15.0) only --global for writing
but not for regular reading (as I demonstrated in the original email)

-- 
Yaroslav O. Halchenko
Center for Open Neuroscience     http://centerforopenneuroscience.org
Dartmouth College, 419 Moore Hall, Hinman Box 6207, Hanover, NH 03755
Phone: +1 (603) 646-9834                       Fax: +1 (603) 646-1419
WWW:   http://www.linkedin.com/in/yarik